this morning on "early today," collateral damage. nato admits a bombing error likely led to a deadly air strike on a civilian home in libya. arizona uglies. more evacuations are ordered with crews battling a pair of wildfires facing extremely high winds. and future flight. a european aerospace company unveils plans for an eco-friendly hypersonic unveils plans for an eco-friendly hypersonic passenger jet. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning, i'm lynn berry.

and today we begin with a not so surgical strike. nato is admitting that one of its bombings in libya appears to have been off target, and may have had deadly consequences. libya's government says the air strike killed nine civilians, including two children. for the very latest on this we go to nbc's stephanie gosk in tripoli for us. stephanie, good morning. >> good morning, lynn. nato says it regrets the loss of civilian life, but the target in this attack was actually a surface-to-air missile silo and it appears there was a weapons systems failure on one of its rockets that diverted it into a residential neighborhood. now, according to the libyan government, nine people were killed. as you mentioned, two small children, in addition to 18 children or rather people being injured in that neighborhood. now, this comes just two days after nato admitted hitting a group of rebels out in eastern libya, in a mistaken attack there. and they've had mistaken attacks in the past.

and it's follows weeks of problems within nato. there has been internal battles over the level of certain nations' contribution to the alliance, and there has been an open debate, as you know, in the united states over our contribution to this conflict. lynn? >> well, stephanie, how is the libyan government reacting there to this? >> well, they are definitely taking advantage of the public relations opportunity here. there's a spokesman for the government that said that this is an example of natureo not accidentally hitting civilians, but he said deliberately targeting civilians. and then the foreign minister in a brief statement to the press last night called for a global jihad against the criminal west, because of this attack. lynn? >> all right, stephanie gosk there for us in tripoli. stephanie, thank you. back here at home, extremely high winds have been hampering efforts to contain massive wildfires tearing all across the southwest. crews are battling flames in arizona, new mexico, and texas.

about 1700 more homes were evacuated in southern arizona yesterday due to the monument fire. wind gusts near that blaze topped 60 miles per hour. meanwhile, crews have made some progress on the largest of these fires, that is the 800 square mile wallow fire. the containment there is now at 44%. it has destroyed 32 homes and 4 rental cabins. several fires are also burning in texas. this one, which is about 100 miles north of houston, has burned about 14,000 acres. officials say it's about 40% contained. and while a lack of water is a problem in the southwest, too much of it is the issue alone the missouri river. several levees in northern missouri have not been able to hold back water from upstream bams. the u.s. army corps of engineers released the water to make room for a potentially heavy rains expected all throughout early next week.

this weekend in big lake, missouri, water overtopped one levee flooding homes and farmland there. meanwhile in nebraska, a flooding alert was issued for a second nuclear power plant. although officials say the public is not in any danger. and now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. a dramatic rescue played out near the crest of niagara falls. when a helicopter plucked two new york state police officers from their stranded boat. shortly after they rescued four teenagers from the niagara river, heavy fog threw the officers off course and they were only a few feet from the mouth of the falls when they dropped the anchor. stopping the boat from being swept over the ledge. on father's day outing in texas, it turned dangerous when one dad and his son needed to be rescued from their boat after it capsized in the galveston bay. with the aid of life jackets the men floated in rough waters for two hours before a coast guard

helicopter crew spotted them. the pair was hoisted from the bay without any serious injury. and finally in orlando, a boxing ring was the location of a memorable father's day encounter. a father and son hugged it out for 24 hours straight. the son is a performance artist who came up with the idea after seeing a similar live exhibit involving two strangers. the message was the day, long embrace, was to showcase a healing and transformative experience. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. and happy belated father's day to you. >> thank you. >> i have a feeling your little one, 1 year old, you can barely get like a 10 second hug for him. >> that's true. like those, wonderful. good morning, everyone. over the weekend the heat continues. do believe seven days in a row in dallas now 100 degrees or

hotter. in dallas it has yet to rain in the month of june. that's just an indication of what all of texas is going through. san antonio 103 yesterday. so this is where we need the relief. this is where we're not going to see it any time soon. up to the north there, lynn showed you pictures of the flooding in nebraska and iowa, the missouri river. it's going to get worse. here is our streaks. san antonio, now 31 days in a row 90 or hotter. so in other words, summer started early and now it's just going to continue here. look at all the cities on this list that i've seen at least 19 to 20 days in a row of 90 degree heat. pretty much everywhere from texas down through the deep south, louisiana, mississippi, alabama, and florida. now i mention the thunderstorms and they're widespread this morning. the heat ridge continues to the deep south. at least for another day or two. thunderstorms widespread. we've got rain moving through d.c. rain in kentucky and thunderstorms. but the worst of it, by far, nebraska to iowa. look at all the bright red. these are thunderstorms from iowa right across interstate 80. now approaching areas of northern illinois. so that's the stormy spot for the day today and probably

tomorrow, too. that's a quick look at your national forecast. now here's a look at weather outside your window. thunderstorms in baltimore, maryland, possible, especially early today. area of rain that's definitely going to be heading off the coast as we go throughout the morning. but that will keep temperatures down as we go throughout at least the first half of the day. off of the heat, look at houston, texas, 102. heat, thunderstorms, it's like hitting the repeat button every day. >> groundhog day. all right, bill, thanks so much. coming up, greece may get another bailout. another game system is hacked. and boeing shows off in paris. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus why experts think this weekend's big winner at the box office will end up being a loser. >> good news, bad news for the cardinals and for meltdown to masterpiece. rory mcilroy at the u.s. open. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today," i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. retiring defense secretary robert gates has confirmed u.s. officials are holding preliminary talking with the taliban to find a political solution to the war in afghanistan. in televised interviews sunday, gates concede he didn't expect significant progress for months. but talks, of course, come as president obama decides how many troops to withdraw in the limited drawdown set to begin next month. severe flooding triggered by torrential rain continues to inundate southern and eastern china. according to state media, the surging waters have so far left more than 180 people dead or missing. and have forced the evacuation of a half million people. ever dream of flying halfway across the world in the time it takes to watch a movie? well it may not be so far off. european aerospace company eads has unveiled plans for

transportation rocket that will be able to fly from paris to tokyo in just 2 1/2 hours. using biofuel and zero emission rocket engines. the company hopes to build a prototype by 2020 and have service up and running by 2050. and the library of congress has 5 million maps in its collection, but none likely as rare and unique as this one. the map of the square and stationary earth was published in 1893, and supported a theory that the earth was flat. it's one of just two known to exist. and is being donated by a former south dakota state senator. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opened at 12,004 after gaining 42 points on friday. the s&p was up three points. but the nasdaq lost seven. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei added two points. but in hong kong the hang seng dropped 95.

looking ahead to the week on wall street, traders make it a jump-start from a big banking deal. pnc financial services is buying royal bank of canada's u.s. retail bank operations for $3.4 billion, expanding into america's southeast. eurozone finance ministers working on greece's debt trouble have committed to emergency loans and a second bailout. but only after athens put harsh austerity measures in place. sunday, greece's prime minister asked for support for tax hikes, spending cuts, and privatization plans to avoid a catastrophic default. sega reports names, birth dates and e-mail addresses, and encrypted passwords belonging to 1.3 million customers were stolen from its database in the latest cyber attack against the video game company. credit card numbers were not hacked. topping the week's events, the central bank meets tuesday and wednesday, and interest will

be high in the fed's post-meeting statement. tuesday's report on sales of previously owned homes is expected to show a may decline. after a series of reports suggesting manufacturing was faltering, friday's report on orders for durable goods is expected to show a may rebound. also friday, the final reading on first quarter gdp, gross domestic product, is forecast to show 1.9% annual growth. less could mean trouble for both stocks and the economy as a whole. and finally, boeing 747-8 intercontinental, the new elongated passenger version of its legendary jumbo jet, made its international debut sunday at the paris air show. well, run away open. the stanley cup on the diamond. and a rookie makes his first homer, a very big one. plus big trouble for the red birds as big man albert pujols goes down with an injury. your early morning sports

headlines are straight ahead. >> in weather it shouldn't surprise anyone that we're ending spring the way it was the whole way along, hotd in the south and stormy in the north. the forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today."

and in sports, after enduring embarrassing self-implosion earlier this year at the masters, northern ireland's rory mcilroy came back this weekend, delivering an all but perfect performance to win the u.s. open. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> hi there, good morning. the last time we saw rory mcilroy he was collapsing at the masters. today, he's a u.s. open champion. to congressional where the 22-year-old mcilroy played the tournament of his life. led the u.s. open wire-to-wire, had the lead after thursday and kept it going thanks to shots like this on 10. nails a green on the par three, then pulls the string all the way back to the cup. almost a hole in one. he tapped in for birdie. then on 18, a mere formality, a par and $1.4 million. mcilroy wins the u.s. open, finishing a record 16 under par. irish eyes are smiling as mcilroy gives his dad the ultimate father's day gift. it's his first-ever major championship. the stanley cup has been to a lot of places over the years,

and now you can check fenway park off the list. the bruins brought the cup to fenway and threw out the first pitch. it looks more like a firing range as every player tosses a ball to one of the red sox. kevin youklis knows a thing or two about titles. won a pair with boston and gave the socks an early lead with his 11th homer of the year. they won 12-2. good news, bad news for the cardinals. albert pujols jams his wrist as he tries to make a tag at first base. goes down in a heap of pain. they're calling it a sprained wrist. cards are hoping that's all it is. we'll have an mri and x-rays today. now the good, skip schumacher with his best pujols impression, a walk-off homer in the ninth. to minnesota, twins at padres 10-4 in the ninth, when viqueira scorches one and in comes the winning home run. twins win 5-4. and finally the indians cory phelps picked the perfect time to hit his first major league home run, tied at two in the 11th, the three-run bomb,

indians walk off with a 5-2 win over the pirates. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> "early today" sports is brought to you by lectric shave. blade close. miss usa is crowned, and amy winehouse gets booed. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, sure he's the leader of the free world, but some things are even more important than that. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this monday morning. we're starting off with some active weather. a lot of big thunderstorms this morning. heavy rain, flash flooding, iowa and nebraska. later today we're going to do it all over again. moderate risk of severe weather with possible tornadoes from sioux falls to omaha to lincoln, areas down to sioux city just north of kansas city. areas in yellow have a chance of strong thunderstorms. that's a good chunk of the country from the ohio valley down through the mid-atlantic. we'll watch the carolinas and virginia today for thunderstorms. also, especially late today down to oklahoma, kansas city in that area with the tornado risk. if you're watching us on wbbh nbc 2 fort myers, florida, see the great horned owl, bald eagle a bobcat and all sorts of reptiles at wildlife sighting at the calusa nature center and planetarium. love bald eagles. have you ever seen them in the wielgd? >> no, i've not. i've got to go to the

conservatory. now here's an early look at this morning's head lines in entertainment. the latest superhero film was number one this weekend, but not exactly with superhero numbers. a "greenen lantern" which cost a reported $200 million to make earned on the low end of expectations with over $52 million. but after brutal reviews, many experts are convinced the film will lose money, and are already labeling it a failure. elsewhere, a 21-year-old self-described history geek representing california has been named miss usa. alyssa campanella, who was miss new jersey in the miss teen usa contest in 2007, moved to california 18 months ago. amy winehouse, whose career has been checkered with substance abuse problems, canceled upcoming european tours this weekend, after fans in belgrade booed the english singer who struggled to perform her songs, and keep her balance. and finally the so-called

subway dress worn by marilyn monroe in the "seven year itch" sold way above expectations this weekend at auction. it went for a whopping $4.6 million. epic. well now this comes to us from washington, d.c., where the president spent father's day with a few young americans who give the commander in chief an excellent approval rating. president obama sweetened his father's day by taking his daters, as well as his niece and nephew, to a nearby ice cream parlor. the outing was brief, and it was anything but private. but even the president gets to take a little time out to enjoy father's day. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. i hope you had a wonderful father's day weekend. we have some rain on this monday. right now the heaviest rain is near d.c. light to moderate is spreading across 95. everybody will see at least a little rain this morning. showers are likely and thunderstorms are possible this morning. high temperature in the upper 70's and low 80's. we will come back and check if

forecast for the rest of the week. >> 71 degrees on tv hill. here's a look ahead to 11 news today. >> the body of a missing fire cadet is found. i am kim dacey live at de tell us, coming up. >> the debt limit. where talks stand now. >> one problem along 100, a >> one problem along 100, a vehicle

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. >> and i am stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >> tony pann has a check of the forecasts. >> tea till still raining now -- it is still raining now